TELECOMMUTING

Telecommuting is generally defined as using technology to travel to
one's job, rather than physically commuting to it. For instance,
telecommuters might log onto home
computers
and dial in to their company's computer system to perform the
normal tasks of their jobs. But it is important to note that telecommuters
are still employees of a company. Those who work from home running their
own businesses are not telecommuters; they are more appropriately referred
to as home-based business owners. Telecommuters and home-based business
owners share many of the same needs, however, such as ready access to
customers and reliable connectivity to the outside world.

Telecommuting is a rapidly growing trend in American business. The number
of companies offering telecommuting as an option to employees increased
from 6 percent in 1993 to 33 percent in 1998, according to a survey in
Business Week.
Telecommuting is expected to continue to grow as new occupations that are
shaped by modern communications come into existence. "Workers in
newly emerging jobs won't have to fight past patterns or
expectations," Peter Coffee wrote in
PC Week.
"'Telepresence' via fax, e-mail and (increasingly)
video will be their norm and not an awkward innovation." In fact,
some experts believe that telecommuting may be only the first step in the
creation of increasingly sophisticated working environments, as
information technologies
continue to change the way people work.

A number of factors have contributed to the trend toward telecommuting.
Lisa Shaw, author of
Telecommute! Go to Work without Leaving Home,
wrote that "the labor pool of employees with specific talents will
shrink, making employers more willing to make concessions to keep valued
employees happy. A smaller labor pool combined with an increasing demand
for highly skilled laborers has fueled employee-driven change in working
environments. Scarce, highly skilled workers have begun to demand more
flexible work arrangements, especially as they choose to live farther and
farther from their employers."

Shaw and other observers also note that demographic changes within the
American
workforce
are a factor in the growth of telecommuting. These experts contend that
new generations of workers are less willing to sacrifice time with family
than their counterparts of previous eras. This desire to spend more time
at home and avoid long commutes has made telecommuting an increasingly
attractive option.

Perhaps the most important factor in the growth of telecommuting is that
improved technology has made working from home viable. With the advent of
high-speed modems, fax machines, voice mail, powerful personal computers,
electronic mail,
and the like, workers can now perform their jobs virtually anywhere
without losing touch with employers and customers. Indeed,
PC Week
reported that "virtual office" technology allowed more than
11 million workers to telecommute at least one day per month in 1998.

Both employers and employees have found telecommuting beneficial, often
mutually so. Among the advantages cited by workers is the ability to avoid
long, stressful commutes. The sheer convenience of commuting across the
hall rather than across town is compelling reason enough for some. In
addition, staying at home to work means the telecommuter's workday
is shorter, leaving more time for pleasurable activities and more
flexibility for changeable tasks such as
child and elder care.
A study conducted by AT&T
showed that 75 percent of telecommuters felt increased satisfaction with
their personal and family lives. Employers find these advantages work for
them, too, by making it easier to retain valuable employees.

According to
Nation's Business,
another advantage of telecommuting is increased employee effectiveness.
Initially, employers feared productivity downturns with home-based
workers, but actually the opposite has been true (although there are
exceptions, of course). Telecommuters face fewer distractions from hectic
office environments and spend less time in meetings. They also tend to
have increased morale, which translates to fewer sick days and lower
turnover rates for employers.

Another quantifiable benefit for employers is the reduced need for space.
Office space and parking space requirements can be curtailed if a portion
of one's staff telecommutes. Jack Nilles, president of JALA
International, a Los Angeles-based management consulting firm, estimates
that companies can save $11,000 per year for each employee who
telecommutes two days a week. Of course, companies may incur some costs
upon implementing a telecommuting program. For example, they may need to
supply workers with computers, modems, remote access
software,
fax machines, and additional phone lines for their home offices. But
these one-time costs are likely to be much smaller than the potential
annual savings.

Although telecommuting offers numerous potential advantages to both
employers and employees, it is not appropriate for everyone. For example,
some people lack the self-discipline that is needed for working at home.
They may be distracted by children and spouses who find it difficult to
understand that telecommuters are still working even though they are at
home. Other people may go to the opposite extreme and find that nonwork
activities are crowded out of their lives. In effect, their home becomes
their office so they work all the time. This problem is most likely to
occur when telecommuting is considered an experiment. In that case, Coffee
explained, home workers may feel "constant pressure to make up for
perceived lack of commitment to the job by outproducing coworkers."
Finally, some telecommuters find that they miss the social interaction
that takes place in an office environment.

It is important to realize that telecommuting affects the entire office,
not just the employees who spend some or all of their time working from
home. It transforms the social interactions between coworkers and requires
adjustments from people still in the office. Telecommuting also presents
challenges for supervisors. Some managers tend to feel suspicious toward
telecommuters. If they cannot physically observe an employee at work, they
are concerned that that employee is not really working. In addition, some
managers worry that by allowing their staffs to telecommute, they will
eliminate the need for their own jobs. After all, when top executives
visit an office and see mostly empty cubicles, they might wonder why they
are paying someone to supervise a nonexistent staff.

As Lin Grenshing-Pophal explained in an article for
HRMagazine,
training
can help companies overcome the potential pitfalls involved in
telecommuting. She recommends training the telecommuters, training their
supervisors, and then training both groups together. Ideally,
telecommuters and managers should discuss their expectations for their new
working relationship and figure out exactly how the arrangement will work
before a telecommuting program is implemented. The main challenge for
supervisors involves learning to manage for results rather than for time
spent on the job. "In a telecommuting relationship, time is not
important, and this is one of the harder lessons for supervisors to
learn," Grenshing-Pophal wrote. "In training managers to
supervise telecommuters, experts say that learning to make the transition
from managing time to managing projects is critical and will determine the
success of an organization's telecommuting program." It may
also be helpful to train employees who will remain in the office in order
to prevent them from feeling jealous and help them be supportive of
telecommuters.

In an article for
Entrepreneur,
Heather Page noted that companies should create a written policy to cover
telecommuting. This document should detail who is eligible for the
program, outline what is expected of telecommuters, and provide a list of
the equipment and services that the company will supply. It may also be
helpful to include a checklist to help employees determine whether their
job—and personality—is well suited to telecommuting.
Finally, Page recommends that companies create systems for measuring the
effectiveness of their telecommuting programs and making changes as
needed.

Telecommuting will have far-reaching implications for all business owners
in the future. As the labor pool shrinks, businesses large and small will
compete for workers, many of whom will ask for the telecommuting option.
Fortunately, telecommuting has advantages for everyone involved. It saves
businesses money by reducing space needs, turnover, and sick time, and
improves employee morale by increasing personal time and flexibility. Of
course, telecommuting also involves some potential pitfalls. For example,
supervisors may find it difficult to deal with
employees who rarely come to the office. But training sessions and
written policies can help companies overcome the problems and reap the
benefits associated with telecommuting.